The highest-paid public employee in the vast majority of American states is a college football or, less frequently, a college basketball coach — and your tax dollars fund their hefty paychecks. In the handful of states where it’s not a coach, a college dean or president is the state’s highest-paid public employee in almost every case.
Higher education is big business, and a school’s athletic department is usually the goose that lays the golden egg — and nowhere is that more evident than in the realm of NCAA football. The top college football coaches often earn as much or more than their NFL counterparts — and for good reason.
According to Forbes, virtually no other coaching position in all of sports has more of an impact on a program’s success than that of the head football coach. Their job goes far beyond what fans see on television, like calling plays and managing the clock. They have to evaluate the talent and growth potential of largely unproven high school teenagers barely old enough to drive. They have to put together and manage enormous networks of assistant coaches, trainers, managers and supporting staff. They have to navigate complex and strict rules established by the NCAA and their individual schools and make sure their players and staffs abide by those regulations. And now they’re asked to help manage “Name, Image and Likeness” rules that are constantly changing as players are allowed to make money off endorsements.
They’re charged with understanding and mitigating the emotional and social challenges that are inherent to their players’ age group and deal with intense pressure under a bright media spotlight. On top of that, of course, are the Xs and Os of creating playbooks, developing strategies and instituting a winning culture that extends from the locker room and the practice field to game day.
Not all coaches, however, are created — or paid — equal.
GOBankingRates looked at NBCSports data and found the 15 highest paid college football coaches for the 2022 season. Although none of them can cry poverty, there’s a huge disparity in pay scale. UCLA’s Chip Kelly, for example, will earn $5.6 million this season, while Georgia’s Kirby Smart will pull down $11.25 million. What they make per game, per minute and per second will make your eyes pop, too.
